Richard M. Brewer

Richard M. "Dick" Brewer (19 February 1850-4 April 1878) was the founding leader of the Lincoln County Regulators during the Lincoln County War; he was killed by bounty hunter Buckshot Roberts.

Biography
Richard M. Brewer was born in St. Albans, Vermont, and he grew up in Boaz, Wisconsin. Brewer himself later moved to Missouri and then to Lincoln County, New Mexico, becoming a farmer. In 1871, he began to work for Lawrence Murphy, but soon left the job in order to work as a cattle foreman for John Tunstall. When Tunstall was murdered on Murphy's orders in February 1878, Brewer was chosen to lead a deputized posse, the "Lincoln County Regulators", to hunt down Tunstall's killers. He soon found his authority challenged by gunslinger Billy the Kid, who objected to Brewer's view that they should take the killers alive and abide by the law. Brewer, as the leader of the posse, was held responsible for The Kid's actions, with the "wanted" sketch of The Kid resembling Brewer instead. On 4 April 1878, the Regulators were tracked down to Blazer's Mills by bounty hunter Buckshot Roberts, and Roberts took cover inside of an outhouse. Brewer attempted to approach the outhouse after a barrage was fired at it, but Roberts slipped his rifle muzzle through a crack in the door and shot Brewer three times, killing him.